invitation, her fingers tighte

Carter

, not a

ith old New England money and a rep

e Boston elite, now c

name tasted like

hing, a ghost in the bois

to this. Her family's w

for his s

ised the arrangement. Despise

smile," her father had said, his

ns. Social pressu

But smiling was

e white, a stark contrast t

, eyes fixed not on Liam,

vows, her voice was f

e spoke his, was low

ption, she made

or crying. That

charismatic, slightly dang

ed to be there.

her hand lingering on his arm, her bo

splay. A cl

ng cake, a glass of untouc

Just a quiet observation that unnerved

roach. Didn't

a silent counterpoi

uriate

s were thinning, she

on't you?" she hissed, h

gaze finally meet

what,

. The Mil

ing, just lo

aid, the words a bitter prophecy. "You'l

licker in his eyes she couldn't

t in a cold war fought within

constant presence, a shadow L

no secr

the living room, too clo

voices, hushed and intimate, d

bedr

doorway. Ava was

mind. The casual intimac

t time. Or the ten

d sharp. Fatigue, a constant compan

doorframe, the wood

ing night echoed in his m

id regret it. Not the marr

saw him. No sha

f annoyance at t

me," she said,

on his face. He was wearin

g on her lips. "Noah was just admiring your tas

, do you? You never say anything. Why are you so determine

m her to Noah,

t of him, replaced b

ce surprisingly steady.

Her smile

did yo

ll have the pa

d genuinely surprised. Then, a slow, t

eathed. "I though

ly vibrated w

, her lawyer

n lawyer, a quiet ma

ms, Mr.

have the apartment. Her assets are her

ised an eyebrow

d. A mandatory separation peri

mpatient. "Is it

waiting p

? That's an

initial separation agreem

her name wit

leaving,

"If you're lonely, I know a girl. She's not my t

n from her purse,

eld i

e napkin, then at

, his voice calm, almost

mposure was unsettling. Sh

and his doctor knew, was that the six-month

ed the news a week before

toma. Ag

ths. Ma

ck was